To:                                             Higher Education Committee

From:                                        Joseph P. Frey

Subject:                                        Program Completer Performance on New York State                                                                             Teacher Certification Examinations

Date:                                         July 6, 2010    

Authorizations:                        

SUMMARY

Issue for Information

How did program completers perform on New York State Teacher Certification Examinations from 2004-2009? 

Reason(s) for Consideration

Pass-rate data for the State teacher certification examinations is used to meet accountability requirements under Part 52.21(2)(iv) of the Commissioner's Regulations and federal law (Title II, Higher Education Opportunity Act).

Proposed Handling

For information.

Background Information

To qualify for an initial teaching certificate in New York State, candidates must pass the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST), the Assessment of Teaching Skills-Written (ATS-W), and the Content Specialty Test (CST) in the content area of the certification being sought.  Institutions must maintain an 80 percent pass rate for all program completers on all examinations required for the certification titles to which their registered programs lead. If an institution is identified as having a pass rate of less than 80 percent on any of the examinations, it would be required to submit a corrective action plan to the Department for review and approval. Both the State Education Department and the U.S. Department of Education use these test results as one measure to help ensure high standards of quality in teacher preparation programs.  Examination results are used in the following ways to identify institutions:

• Beginning in 1999, both the LAST and ATS-W examinations were used by the Department to identify institutions for corrective action if they had 10 or more test takers for the examination, in the given year, and the pass rate is below 80 percent.

• Beginning with the 2004 - 2005 tests, pass rates on the individual CSTs were included to determine whether an institution is in the low-performing category. The Department uses CST data to determine whether an institution satisfies the 80 percent pass rate only when the institution has 30 or more scores on a given CST.  Data from the three most recent years is accumulated to reach a total of at least 30 scores. If an institution does not meet the minimum 80 percent pass rate on a CST examination, the Department requires the institution to prepare a corrective action plan to improve candidate performance on each CST for which the program is identified as low performing.

              2008-2009 Test Data

              Program Completer Information

              In 2008-2009, the total number of program completers for New York (114 teacher education institutions) was 23,327. Twenty (20) institutions prepare approximately 50 percent of the State’s program completers. The top three institutions are Touro College – Manhattan Campus (n = 964), CUNY Queens College (n = 928), and SUC Cortland (n = 725).  Refer to Table 1 for a list of the top 20 institutions based on the number of program completers. 

              Low Performing Programs at Institutions 

              Based on 2008-2009 LAST, ATS-W, and/or single- or multi-year CST examination results, the programs at the following institutions are identified as low performing (see Table 2) and will be required to submit corrective action plans for the Department's review and approval: CUNY Brooklyn College; D’Youville College, Le Moyne College, and Touro College – Manhattan Campus.

              Trend Data

              Number of Program Completers

              The statewide number of program completers increased 12 percent from 20,839 in 2004 to 23,327 in 2009 (see Table 3). Twenty (20) institutions (5 SUNY, 3 CUNY, and 12 Independent) had more than 500 program completers in one or more of the five-year period. Among them, SUC Cortland had over 1,000 program completers for three of the five years and Touro College – Manhattan Campus had over 1,000 program completers for two of the five years.

              LAST Pass Rate

              From 2004-2009, the statewide pass rate on the LAST was 99 percent for each of the five years. Approximately three quarters of the institutions had a pass rate of 100 percent or 99 percent (see Table 4). In the past five years, only one institution did not maintain a pass rate of 80 percent on the LAST (CUNY NYC College of Technology had a pass rate of 69 percent in 2004-2005). Please note that institution self-report data from 2006-2009 indicates that 29 institutions require candidates to pass the LAST for admission or program completion.  

              ATS-W Pass Rate

              The pattern of the ATS-W results is similar to that of the LAST. From 2004-2009, the statewide pass rate on the ATS-W was 99 percent or higher for each of the five years (see Table 5). Approximately 85 percent of the institutions had a pass rate of 100 percent or 99 percent for 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. The percentage of institutions with a pass rate of at least 99 percent increased to approximately 95 percent of the total number of institutions for the following three years. In the past five years, only one institution did not maintain a pass rate of 80 percent on the ATS-W (CUNY NYC College of Technology with a pass rate of 76 percent in 2004-2005). Please note that institution self-report data from 2006-2009 indicates that at least 16 institutions require candidates to pass the ATS-W for admission or program completion, therefore, ensuring a pass rate of 100 percent for this test.  

              CST Pass Rate 

              The statewide pass rates for the CSTs from 2004-2009 are presented in Table 6. As can be seen from the table, statewide pass rates of the following CSTs were at least 95 percent for each of the five years: Family and Consumer Science, Education Technology Specialist, Literacy, Biology, Physics, Theatre, Math, Chemistry, Health Education, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and Multi-subject. In these five years, statewide pass rates of the following CSTs were below 90 percent for at least one year: Students with Disabilities, Italian, Library Media Specialist, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, French, Dance, and Gifted Education. 

              Statewide pass rates of the following CSTs were below 80 percent for at least one of the five years: Italian, French, Dance, and Gifted Education. The pass rate on the Italian CST was 74 percent in 2007-2008; the Dance CST 76 percent in 2007-2008; and the Gifted Education CST 78 percent in 2008-2009. The pass rate on the French CST was below 80 percent for two years, 76 percent in 2007-2008 and 77 percent in 2008-2009.           

              Number of CST Test Takers             

              Presented in Table 7 is the trend data on the number of CST test takers. As can be seen from the table, when compared to 2004, the number of test takers increased in 2009 for all certification areas. The greatest percentage increase in the number of test takers were in the following certification areas: Educational Technology Specialist (188 percent), Library Media Specialist (85 percent), Teaching Students with Disabilities (75 percent), Technology Education (71 percent), Language other than English (56 percent), and Teaching English as a Second Language (53 percent). The number of STEM fields CSTs test takers increased 23 percent from 2004-2009.                       

              Low Performing Programs at Institutions

              From 2004-2009, programs at nineteen (19) institutions (3 CUNY and 16 Independent) were identified as low performing  based on program completer’s performance on the LAST, ATS-W, and CST (see Table 8). Among these 19 institutions, the following institutions were on the list for multiple years for having pass rates that were below 80 percent on the same CST: CUNY Queens College, Boricua College, Mercy College – Bronx Campus, Rochester Institute of Technology, Touro College – Flatbush, Touro College – Manhattan Campus, and Wagner College.

              Data for Individuals Seeking Certification through Transcript Evaluation 

              The number of individuals seeking certification through transcript evaluation declined 50 percent from 6,590 in 2004 to 3,343 in 2009 (see Table 9). The pass rates on the ATS-W and the LAST were 94 percent or higher for each of the fives years. The CSTs in the following certification areas were 90 percent or above for each of the five years when there were at least 10 test takers: Mandarin, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Educational Technology Specialist, Family and Consumer Science, Spanish, Literacy, and Biology. Pass rates of the following CSTs were below 80 percent for at least one of the five years: Physics, Technology Education, Students with Disabilities, and Dance.           

Recommendation

N/A

Table 1. Top 20 Institutions by Number of Program Completers (2008-2009)

Table 2. 2008-2009 Low Performing Programs at Institutions

Note*: Combined pass rate for 2006-2007, 2007-2008, and 2008-2009. The Department uses CST data to determine whether an institution satisfies the 80 percent pass rate only when the institution has 30 or more scores on a given CST.  Data from up to the three most recent years is accumulated to reach a total of at least 30 scores.

Table 3. Institutions with More than 500 Program Completers in a Given Year

Table 4. LAST Pass Rate Data       

Note*: Only institutions with 10 or greater than 10 test takers are included in the analysis. 

Note1: Twenty–nine (29) institutions require candidates to pass the LAST for admission or program completion for 2006-2009.  

Table 5. ATS-W Pass Rate Data

Note*: Only institutions with 10 or greater than 10 test takers are included in the analysis. 

Note1: In 2006-2007, sixteen (16) institutions require candidates to pass the ATS-W for admission or program completion.

Note2: In 2007-2008, seventeen (17) institutions require candidates to pass the ATS-W for admission or program completion.

Note3: In 2008-2009, twenty (20) institutions require candidates to pass the ATS-W for admission or program completion.

Table 6. Statewide CST Pass Rate

 Note*: Only CSTs with at least 10 test takers are included in the analysis.

 Note1: In 2006-2007, fourteen (14) institutions require candidates to pass the CST for admission or program completion.

 Note2: In 2007-2008, twenty (20) institutions require candidates to pass the CST for admission or program completion.

 Note3: In 2008-2009, nineteen (19) institutions require candidates to pass the CST for admission or program completion.

Table 7. Number of CST Test Takers

Note*: Only CSTs with at least 10 test takers are included in the analysis.

Table 8. Low Performing Programs at Institutions (2004-2009)

Table 9. Pass Rate Data for Individuals Seeking Certification through Transcript Evaluation 

 Note*: Only tests with at least 10 test takers are included in the analysis.